Feeding apparatus for electric furnaces



v Aug. 7, 1928.. 1,680,163

P. L. J..M|GUET FEEDING APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC FURNACES Original Filed July 8, 1926 7 F'IG.2

Patented Aug. 7, 1928 UNITED STATES PAUL LOUIS JOSEFI-I MIGUET, OF ST.-JULIEN-DE-MAURIEN NE, FRANCE, ASSIGNOE TO SOGIE'IYE ELECTROMETALLURGIQUE DE HEONTRICHER, OF ST.-JULIEHDE-MAU EIEN flE, FRANCE.

FEEDING APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC FURNACES.

Original application filed July 8, 1926, Serial 11'0. 121,189, and in France November 4, 1925. Divided and this application filed November 17, 1927 Serial No. 234,007.

This specification is a division of the invention in the Process of electrothermic reduction and the electric furnace for carrying out such process described and claimed in my co-pending application for Letters Patent-of the United Statesof America, filedJuly 8, 1926, and bearing Serial No. 121,189.

According to this process, the charge is formed by methodic heterogeneous mixtures. The apparent complexness of a feed by means of layers alternately provided with and not provided with carbonaceous mate rial may raise objections especially for units of high power. jections, a mechanical feeding of the con ducting mixtures and above all of the additions is necessary. Concerning these latter it is not obvious for instance, how 3,000 kilogs. of iron ores and 360 kilogs. of limestone are who fed in with a shovel with the speed and regularity necessary for a uniform spreading out of the current and for the separation of the material to be reduced, even by an exaggerated number of workmen.

Objections do not appear with sufficiently important furnaces to justify the installation of a suitable hopper apparatus, because independently of facility of separate feeding, the possibility of correcting the production by appropriate modification of the composition of the layers provided with carbonaceous material without taking care of the mass of the fusion mixtures of the furnace, gives such a simplicity to the process of manufacture that even furnace men the most accustomed to the old method would not return to the former working condition of furnaces with homogeneous fusion mixtures.

The present invention has for its object means for mechanical feeding of the materials into a furnace especially, when the above mentioned process is applied.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively vertical section and a plan of a feeding arrangement. 7

Figures 1 and 2 show respectively a vertical section and plan of saidarrangement In order to avoid these obcomprising an annular electric furnace arranged concentrically with the electrode.

The vertical walls 2 extend upwards to the level of the mixing platform 3 and have an inclined bottom 1 prolonged, at each space'between two flexible connections '0 connecting two plates :0, by'a feed chute 5 mixtures, the-vertical shutters are each provided with a separate operating lever 10 allowing for the feeding of the conducting mixture at any point of the annular furnace requiring making up, and the shutters 6 are all connected through cranks 11 to a transmission Cardan shaft 12 driven through a toothed sector 13 and a worm 1 L operated by a single crank 15 being operated at suitable times immediately after the first tapping and the others 8 at half hourly intervals, the additions may be fed uniformly at one time if required.

T is hopper is preferably metallic and it is obvious that the arrangement of the chambers as well as that of their discharge means, may be modified according to the kind of furnace to which the invention is applied.

What I claim as my invention and desire to protect by Letters Patent is A feeding apparatus for an electric furnace said apparatus having in combination, a feed hopper, partitions dividing said-hop per into compartments, arranged in groups the compartment of each of said groups containing the ones conducting mixtures and the others additions of nonconducting material, a shutter for controlling the di charge of eachof said compartments means for ensuring the 1ndiv1dual opening of the shutters corresponding to the compartments of the conductingmixtures,means for en" .suring simultaneously the opening of the shutters corresponding to the compartments of the additions and a common feed chute 

